The Return Trip
by PhoenixSong2013
Summary: The world has been a terrible place. And some things didn't exactly go according to plan the first time 'round. "You may return to Earth, with a party of two that can either be living or non, and fix it from the point where you had been sent." Adopted from Ava Miranda Dakedavra, as the first thirty one chapters are hers!
1. Golden Butterflies and Crumpled Sweaters

Fred walked the pristine white hallways, following the golden butterfly as it fluttered along ahead of him. As they turned a corner, they came to a stop at a white painted wooden door. The butterfly vanished with a loud 'pop!' and he knocked on the door before entering. Something he'd picked up a while ago.

"Ahh, Mister Weasley," said Dumbledore, smiling at him as he leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows against the table and interlocking his fingers, "Nice to see you once again."

"Hi Pr – Dumbledore," he said, catching himself from calling him 'Professor.' The older wizard had constantly reminded him that they were not at Hogwarts, so he really had no reason to be calling him that. It was still hard to drill into his head, but he was getting there.

"Was there something you needed, sir?" he asked. 'Sir' had never been omitted from his Teacher vocabulary.

"Yes, would you please take a seat?" he gestured towards the area in front of the white table, a white chair matching his shooting up from the ground. Fred sat down and looked expectantly at his older headmaster.

"Now, Mister Weasley," he sighed and his eyebrows furrowed a little, looking down at a golden swirl in the table, "As you obviously know, the world down there has been a terrible place."

"Yes," Fred nodded, waiting patiently for him to continue. Patience was another thing he'd picked up there. George would've snorted at him and shook his head for such a thing, but it just can't be helped. And, really, he could literally wait forever anyway, so patience would eventually have to be learned.

"Some things didn't exactly go according to plan," he brushed a few invisible specks off the surface of the table, avoiding looking the redhead in the eyes.

"Yes, sir?" he questioned.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and sighed, finally looking at him a little sadly, "You may return to Earth, with a party of two that can either be living or non, and fix it from the point where you had been sent. And only you and your party will have any recollection of these events, save for those who will have been informed in their latest dream."

"I can go back?" he perked up, grinning at the thought of seeing his family again – pranking with George, laughing with Ginny, picking on little Ron and Prefect Percy, playing with the niece he'd only seen once, hugging Mum and Dad with one that she would certainly approve of. And they wouldn't realize that he'd been gone. He'd have his life back – he'd have everything back once more.

"Yes," he smiled a little, "But I have not been given the task to assign you to which time, so whichever the two beings you chose to be are will need forewarning."

"Sir?" he asked, tilting his head, "What does that mean?"

"It means," he flicked a pencil on the desk, only to have it roll back to him, "That the two of your party will have to die – peacefully, in their sleep – in order to be informed."

He froze. George had already been part of his party of three. But did he want his twin to die? He wouldn't wish that on anyone – except for Bellatrix and Voldemort of course, which he hadn't seen up there at all and probably never would – but George?

"He will feel nothing, Mister Weasley," Dumbledore reassured with a soft smile.

Fred took a deep breath and nodded before bringing his hand to his chin, thinking. George was a given, but who else would be of use? Who else would be able to help with this impossible mission?

"Hermione," he murmured, blinking, "Hermione and George are my group."

Dumbledore nodded before waving his hand over his shoulder so quickly, that Fred thought it was just a twitch. But then the butterfly reappeared and he stood up to follow it, arching an eyebrow at the grandfather-like figure, who only smiled as an answer before he was waved good-bye to.

He followed the butterfly until he reached a set of doors. Pushing one open, his feet touched the soft green grass and his eyes met the light blue sky, clouds filled with other people viewing their loved ones dotting in. On one of those clouds was Lily and James Potter, who always watched their son from above. The butterfly lead him to the golden gate before vanishing once more with the 'pop!' Fred frowned, pushing it open and standing there.

What was he going to do?

He heard two gasps before a female voice asked "George?" and a male one – the one that made his stomach flop in excitement – not that Hermione's didn't, it was just that she wasn't his twin – asked "Hermione?"

"George! Hermione!" Fred cheered from his spot just outside the gate. George's gaze met his and his mouth dropped open before it fitted with a grin, rushing towards him to envelope him in a hug. Fred laughed and hugged him just as forcefully before pulling away and grinning at Hermione. He reached over and pulled her into the hug as well, feeling the need to hug his adopted sister.

"Merlin, you two look great!" he said as he pulled back once more, looking over the two. George's hair was mussed up, his most recent Weasley sweater wrinkled and the collar of his white t-shirt poking through a little at the top. There were a few unidentifiable stains on his jeans, white Converse appearing on his once socked feet. His missing ear had been returned to him, whether he knew it or not. Hermione's hair was pulled into a haphazard ponytail, slipping down her back. She had on a white tank top underneath an overly large periwinkle colored sweater – which was slipping a little off her shoulder and trying to swallow her hand – her dark skinny jeans a little wrinkled but otherwise perfect, grey Converse adorning her own feet.

George and Hermione exchanged glances but said nothing. He looked too happy to see them for them to tell him that they, in fact, looked terrible, seeing as they had both felt the desperate need to fall asleep on their respective couches.

"C'mon – there's a lot of explaining to do," Fred told them as he opened the gate for them.

* * *

"We're dead? Just like that, dead?!" George asked as he and Hermione gaped at Dumbledore. "I mean, I get it, we'd have to be dead to see you and Fred, but we're so young! Who will believe this?! There'd be investigations, not to mention how much this will hurt our families! We just lost Fred – do you think they'd really be happy to see that they lost the other twin?!"

"George, calm down," Hermione soothed, rubbing his shoulder, "There has to be a reasonable explanation for this. Right, Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Granger. And, while we are outside of Hogwarts, I would take great delight if you would kindly call me 'Dumbledore' or 'Albus,'" he told her, not unkindly.

"Yes…Albus," she winced a little at the name. It sounded weird on her tongue.

"Well, now…as you have observed, the world has been in great stress for many years. This was not originally planned. So, you and the two Mister Weasleys are going to be sent back to fix what went wrong. You may stay if you wish if you complete the mission – but if you fail, you will return here. Fred has chosen both of you to accompany him on his 'return trip,' if you will."

"Better have," George smirked over at his twin, "I am your twin, after all."

"Uhh, Fred?" Hermione questioned, "Why did you pick me?"

Fred blinked at her before snorting, rolling his blue eyes at her, "Hermione. Honestly! You are the brightest witch of our age and an amazing fighter! Of course I would pick you!"

"You could've picked Ginny, or Angelina," she reminded him.

"Ginny and Angelina aren't Hermione Granger," George interjected. Hermione blushed at the compliment, sinking lower into her seat.

"And with that, I am afraid that we must say good-bye, until we meet once again," Dumbledore rose, making the rest of them rise too to say farewell to their old Headmaster.

"Good-bye, Dumbledore – it was great seeing you again," George said as he shook his hand.

"Good-bye, sir," Hermione smiled politely before shaking his other hand, "We really missed you down there."

"Thank you, Miss Granger. And I have missed all of you," he smiled kindly at them before finally turning to Fred, "And to you, Mister Weasley, I hope that you shall find happiness once again down on Earth. And to all of you, I must say – I hope to see you once again, although at ages where your own hair is grey and you have sagging skin. Take care."

"Thank you, Professor," the three chorused before walking out of the room and heading down the hall.

They were hardly prepared, however, when there was a loud pop – louder than the butterfly's had been – and the three disappeared, leaving Wizarding Heaven and heading back to Earth, although when and where they did not know.

Although, in Fred and George's case, they didn't quite care. They had their other half back, and couldn't have been happier.

* * *

_**Yeah, because I'm a famous billionaire who got loaded because of her books and amazing sense in fashion. NOT! I don't own Harry Potter, though I am still working on getting those rights :)**_

_**And the first thirty-one, brilliant chapters belong to Ava Miranda Dakedavra, because the first thirty-one chapters are all thanks to her genius. Don't forget that after that chapter the story is mine, though, because I might forget, too, and we don't want that. I'll just sit there and stare blankly at the screen as if it kicked me. Oh well, on with the updating constantly!**_

_**This story I will be updating every Thursday, because, quite frankly, that is the only day I don't have an exam to prepare for or homework to do. So yay!**_

_**Love,**_

_**Marlene**_


	2. Scarlet Trains and Hexed Sweaters

They were floating, like they were suspended in water that had a sluggish but forceful current. Fred laughed and kicked his legs up, putting his arms behind his head and enjoying the ride. George and Hermione, however, both gasped and tried to find their bearings.

The colors were swirling around them, like they had gotten inside a rainbow that had suddenly decided to have a mind of it's own, twisting and twirling around the three travel companions. A spring green snaked it's way around Hermione's ankle, a deep yet bright blue darting playfully around her hair. Yellow swirls were amusing Fred, while a light pink was fluttering about George.

"What is this?" he asked his twin as he tried to gently wave away the offending feminine color.

"Dunno!" Fred shrugged and grinned at them, his blue eyes twinkling happily. Seeing that once more, after all this time, left the two without an argument. So they all leaned back and enjoyed the entertainment the colors brought.

"So, where do you think we'll be going?" George asked as he wove a dark red in between his fingers.

"I don't know," Fred shrugged as Hermione watched a vibrant orange bounce around her. "Maybe we'll stop Tom Riddle from becoming Voldemort."

"Or maybe we'll give information to the Ministry to bring him down," George grinned.

"But we have to remember," Hermione interrupted, "We're going back into a war." Her voice wavered on the last word, wincing a little as she stared down at a playful turquoise. There was no doubt that she was remembering her parents. Her parents who she'd taken so much care into hiding, then a month after she'd found them again, they'd been killed by a bank robbery shooting. Something so tragically Muggle that it nearly killed her.

"Hermione, we know," Fred said softly, "But you have to remember – you can't keep stressing yourself out, alright?"

"He's right, Mione," George informed her, "Remember how long you slept after it was all over? You slept for days. Please, do us a favor and don't worry yourself to death."

She took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, a dash of purple flying on its breeze as she slowly nodded her head, "Alright. I'll try."

"Brilliant," the twins smiled at her before pausing and grinning at each other. They were already in sync again! It was like they'd never been split up in the first place.

With a sudden lurch, the group was on their feet, standing in the middle of a crowd of people. Hermione lost her footing on the landing, reaching out to the nearest stable things around her. This happened to be George and some girl, who whirled around at the contact of a stranger and stared at her as Hermione whipped her hand back, embarrassed.

The girl had black hair, bangs framing her face as the rest of her hair was pulled into a half-ponytail, where only part of it was pulled through so it resembled a bun, her eyes a sparkling cobalt. She had on a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, frayed jeans and black Converse. A red and gold tie was just peeking out from her jeans pocket where she'd hastily shoved it in.

"Ahhh – sorry," Hermione said as she bit her lip, "Very, very sorry."

The girl smiled and nodded, "It's alright – no bruises." She looked her and the twins up and down before holding out her hand, "Hullo, I'm Marlene. Marlene McKinnon."

"Hermione Granger," she shook her hand, "And these are – "

"Fred Granger and George Granger," Fred introduced, pointing between him and George to help the poor girl remember who was who, "Hermione's older yet slightly unwilling to be educated brothers."

"Oh, so you're starting Hogwarts this year?" Marlene smiled, looking between the three.

"Ahh, yes," George winced at how unsure he'd seemed, but Marlene didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" she clapped before grinning at Hermione, "Where are you coming from?"

"Well, we were born here but our parents sent us to Durmstrang for – ahh – safety reasons," Fred supplied before looking helplessly at Hermione for a fraction of a second.

"These two had no desire to learn anything for their tests – although they're both extremely bright, I assure you – so they left a few years ago and then decided to come back with me to finish our schooling."

"Oh – so why'd you leave Durmstrang then?"

"Mum couldn't take it, not seeing as anymore," George shrugged.

"Oh, well it's wonderful that you'll be joining us and that you're reunited with your family. Speaking of being reunited and feeling so good about it – I see a few of my friends. Sorry, must be off, see you 'round!" and with that and a wave, Marlene McKinnon was gone, disappearing into the crowd.

"Wow," Fred commented, "Close one, huh?"

"Extremely," Hermione sighed, pushing her hand onto her forehead, "C'mon, let's go find an empty compartment to talk."

With a nod from both of the twins, they set off towards the big scarlet train – the very one they thought they'd never see again.

* * *

"Alright, so – Hermione is our little sister, we are the older brothers who never gave a crap before but then decided to come back – if we get any closer to anyone, we can say that our mum convinced us to go with her to protect her – our parents are a Muggle and a half-blood, yet George and I had a different dad than you, Hermione, but we were too young to remember him. He left, our mum hooked up with your unknowingly-a-Squib father and had you. Oh, by the way – if you want to change your middle name, now is the time to do it," Fred spewed, not even giving her a place for input before he plowed on again, pacing back and forth in the compartment, "We went to Durmstrang because our parents thought we'd be safer there – you went to the affiliated girls' school which you can't pronounce the name of, although you hated it there and wanted to go home – and you got your chance when Mum finally caved in to her mother-bear instincts and had us come home. We're all seventh years, and just for good measure, I think we should get a little lost every now and again."

George and Hermione were frozen, looking at him before glancing at each other, before looking back at Fred and nodding. How he'd managed to think that up during the ten minutes they'd spent looking for a compartment, they'd never know, mainly to the fact that he now sat down by George, heaving a great sigh as he slumped into the comfy cushions.

"That was brilliant, Gred," George grinned at him. Fred opened an eye and smiled back at him before closing it.

"Thanks, Forge. Means a lot."

The compartment door was flung open and an irritated redhead walked in before freezing, seeing that she was with company, before blushing a little at them. Her red hair was tied back with a dark red bow, although her bangs were somehow perfectly choppy, if that makes any sense. She'd already put on her uniform, her robes slung over her shoulder. But the eyes, the bright green almond shaped eyes that reminded them so much of somebody else, held a trace of embarrassment to them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was taken," Lily Evans said, "I'll just go."

"Oh, nonsense!" Fred said, sitting up in his seat before waving his arm at Hermione, "C'mere, Mione, sit with us."

She rolled her eyes but stood up and walked over to them. She was planning to sit next to Fred, but the twins had other ideas and soon she was in the air, being transferred to lounging across her two new big brothers, who grinned down at her. She huffed and crossed her arms, leaning her head against George's leg and laying her legs across Fred's.

Lily laughed a little and sat down across from them, smiling at the three, "I'm Lily Evans."

"George – " George pointed at himself before pointing to his twin, "Fred, and then there's ickle Hermione." Hermione stuck her tongue out at him, to which he grinned back at before poking her in the nose. "The Grangers."

"Ahh – I see," Lily smiled at them, "Are you new students?"

And so the three replayed their 'tale' to the young woman, Lily giving her own once they were done. She was Muggle-born who had an older sister Petunia – whom she liked to call Tuney – and her parents worked at a library, which Hermione seemed to perk a bit instantly at the mention of a quantity of books – she was in Gryffindor and was currently the new Head Girl – and James Potter was constantly asking her out.

Seeing Lily's wrinkled nose, Hermione arched an eyebrow as she gave George braiding lessons, "What? You don't like him asking you out?"

"No, he's such a – " she started before the compartment door opened, two young men standing there.

One of them had messy black hair, parts of it sticking up in the back, although it certainly didn't help that his hand was running through it at the moment. His hazel eyes were guarded by glasses, and he too was already in uniform. He grinned over at Lily before looking over at the three new persons and smiling over at them.

The second of the two was a light brown haired individual, who was an inch or two shorter than his companion. He had amber eyes that portrayed warmth and knowledge, although he was shrugging on a grey sweater and had forgotten that he was still wearing jeans.

"Hi Lily," the two chorused as the second grunted at his grey clothing.

"Hello Potter, Remus," Lily said before turning to the three, "This is Fred, George, and Hermione."

"Hello, I'm James Potter," James grinned down at them.

"Remus – Lupin," Remus grunted again as the sweater refused to cooperate yet again, "Alright, Prongs, what did you and Padfoot do to my trunk?!"

"I actually didn't do anything," James told him, "I swore to Mum I'd try to lay off on the pranks this year."

Remus growled in annoyance before finally chucking the offending them behind him, accidentally hitting a poor little first year in the face with it, temporarily blinding him. "Sorry!" he yelled behind him as he winced. The sweater went sailing back at him, only when it was supposed to hit him, it swerved and sailed over his head, onto Hermione.

"I'm sorry!" Remus blushed at her as she laughed and took the sweater off of her, handing it back to him as she sat up.

"It's alright," she grinned.

"Are you new students?" James asked.

"Yes – but it's a long story. Promise to tell you later if you're ever interested in it then," Fred said as he slumped even further into his seat, his drooping eyes telling everybody that he really wanted to go back to sleep, which he had been doing previously.

"Do you know anybody though, besides us and Lily?" Remus questioned.

"A girl named Marlene McKinnon, why?" George answered with his own question.

"Well, that certainly won't do," James frowned, "She's a prefect too."

"So?" Fred shrugged.

"We don't want to leave you all alone!" Remus said, as if this was a given.

"You aren't suggesting that they hang around with Black, of all people, are you?" Lily asked as she rose from her seat, looking around for her bag.

"Who else would they be with, my dear Lily?" James asked.

She turned and glared at him, "I am not yours, Potter." And with that, she snatched her notes out of her bag, waved good-bye to the twins and Hermione, and walked out of the compartment.

"Mate, just a little heads up – don't anger a redhead," George told him.

"We're quite nice of course – "

"Yes, very nice, bloody hilarious if you ask me – "

"But Ginny – "

"Oh, Ginny – "

"She's terrible," they finished together. James and Remus stared at them before they finally grinned.

"Can you do that?" Remus asked, turning to Hermione.

"No," she grinned back, "Quite glad I can't though."

The two laughed as Fred and George pretended to be angry with her.

"Well, if you're looking for company, you can head over to our compartment," Remus smiled before he turned and went back into the aisle, still clutching his sweater.

"Just a warning though – Sirius will eventually turn up, especially if you don't want him," James grinned before shutting the door behind him as he walked away.

"Well – I hope you two understand what we have to do now, don't you?" Hermione asked her remaining companions.

They were quiet for a moment, before George turned to her and said, "Get some sweets?"

A loud groan was heard as Hermione dropped her face into her hands, shaking her head back and forth.

* * *

Remus sighed, staring dejectedly down at his uncooperative sweater in his lap. Lily and James – being the new Heads – were bickering as they tried to give out directions to the newest batch of prefects. Those poor little prefects were so confused. He groaned as quietly as he could and slumped lower in his seat, acting like he did not know James Potter or Lily Evans, and he was not Remus John Lupin – he was José de Hablo la Hamiro. …Despite his coloring.

There was a very loud bang coming from the aisle, making Remus jump and stand up, his wand already in his hand as his sweater dropped to the floor. Lily, James and a few of the other prefects were the same way, looking at the door expectantly. When all they heard was shouting outside – not too frantic, just curious – he and the two heads sighed.

"Sirius."

* * *

"Oi, put that out!" Fred ordered, jumping up and scrambling for his wand.

"Not my bloody fault!" Sirius barked as he too looked for his wand. Hermione sighed and hit her head against the back of the seats, lifting her wand and muttering "Aguamenti." Seeing that the offending flames were dosed, they turned to the girl, who was sitting on the floor and twirling her wand in her hands, inspecting its markings.

"And that is why Hermione is called a genius," George announced after a long silence.

"Doesn't take a genius to remember to keep their wands with their person at all times," she grumbled.

Peter nodded, "I have my wand."

"Well then why didn't you use your wand, Pete?" Sirius questioned.

"I panicked," he shrugged.

The compartment door was flung open once more, although this time with a loud 'BANG!' James Potter was glaring at his two friends, Lily and Remus behind him and glaring at them as well.

"Sirius Orion Black…" James started as his eyes narrowed, "We aren't even AT Hogwarts yet, and you've already gone and tried to get us expelled!"

"Now Jamesie – Prongsie – listen, there's no need for the middle names now," Sirius laughed nervously as he backed up and away from his best friend, "I mean, honestly, we were just introducing ourselves and then I tried to show my genius and – "

"What genius, Black?" Lily interrupted, "You have about as much sense as a retarded blind rat."

Peter stiffed and frowned at the redheaded female, "I resent that."

"Why would you?" Lily asked him, making his three friends have horror-stricken expressions for a millisecond before James turned to her and flung an arm around her shoulders, having her stiffen and glare at the offending limb.

"Well, our fair Lily, it's all a very funny story involving a block of cheese, a goose feather pillow and us getting absolutely knackered," he grinned, "Care to hear?"

"No," she frowned, inching away from his immediate area.

"I like how we're just part of the background," George thought aloud, "I mean, we're just here – we don't do anything."

"Sorry – did you say something?" Hermione asked, turning to him and grinning once he mock-glared at her. He flicked one of her curls, making her tug her hair closer to her.

"Dear, ickle Hermione – don't you know not to mess with us?" he grinned down at her, somewhat evilly. She shuddered, pulling her legs up to her chest and pretending to hide from him. He and Fred laughed at her, turning the attention to the three "siblings."

"Sorry – is everybody alright?" Remus asked, already ignoring Sirius. This was usually his punishment whenever McGonagall didn't catch him – he would be shunned from the group until they saw fit or somebody forgot and asked him something.

"Peachy," the twins grinned as Hermione nodded.

"Good," Lily sighed before sending a glare over at Sirius, who was dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt and a black leather jacket, his long black hair framing his rather angular face, "What are you, in a biker gang?"

Sirius perked at this, "Actually, I own a motorbike now, Lily!"

She paled noticeably, "Dear Merlin – who in their right mind would give you a motorbike?!"

James snorted and Sirius sent a glare at him, which James dutifully ignored.

"Oh yes – a very long year for us, dear siblings," Fred smirked at the two in front of him.

"Oh yes – quite right you are, dear Gred," George smiled.

"I do say I am, fair Forge!"

Hermione let out a loud sigh, "I wish I had a good nickname. All I've got is 'Mione' – and I don't even like it all that much."

"No nickname, you say?" Sirius turned to her, sitting down next to her on the floor, "Well, we've got the cure for that!"

"Oi, Sirius, get away from her – you'll give her your contagious crazy gene, and I fairly like that family," Remus frowned at him.

"Ooh! Forge – we're included!" Fred grinned at his twin.

"Brilliant, absolutely smashing, Gred!"

"Indeed!"

Hermione then let out a loud groan and dropped her face into her hands, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. Yes, this would be a very long year. Only she had no idea just how long it would be.

Merlin, was she in for a surprise.

* * *

_**None of the thirty-first chapters are mine, BTW, and neither is the plot, the story itself, or the author's awesome name. The first thirty-one chapters all belong to the amazing Ava Miranda Dakedavra. And the characters, world, and generally Harry Potter all belong to me... NOT! Would I even be on Fanfiction if it did? But I am still working on getting those rights...**_

_**Love,**_

_**Marlene**_


	3. Frisky Gargoyles and Pole Dancing

Practically picking her up and nearly tossing her off the train was an understatement.

They did pick her up and they did toss her off the train, barely giving her enough time to get her footing.

"Where are your bags?" Lily asked Hermione as she followed the brunette off the train, taking her eyes off the castle long enough to finally notice that the girl was still wearing weird jeans and an overly large sweater.

"Oh – we actually have to talk to Dumbledore about that," she answered, twirling the hem of her sweater in her hand, "Any idea where his office is?"

"Oh, yeah!" Lily beamed before deflating, "Err, but I can't show you yet. The Heads have to help the first years and all that. But Remus can show you!"

"What?" the teenager in question asked upon hearing his name.

"Remus, can you show Hermione, Fred and George where Dumbledore's office is?"

"Oh, sure thing, Lily," he smiled at the two girls, his gaze lingering on Hermione, "Where are your brothers anyway?"

Slightly panicking, she looked around and yelped when she saw that they were conversing with Sirius, Peter and James.

"Fred! George!" she yelled, making them turn around and grin at her, "No pranks this year, remember?!"

They whined in harmony, "But Hermione - !"

"No buts! Now c'mon – we've got to go talk to Dumbledore," she frowned at them before turning back to Remus, "Brothers…."

He chuckled, "Although they're not biological, I completely understand." He looked over at James and Sirius, who were now in a loud discussion about Quidditch as the twins headed over towards them.

"Where are we off to again, Mione?" Fred asked, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Dumbledore, didn't you hear her before?" George asked him, slinging an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"Yes, and if you start skipping and singing 'we're off to see the wizard,' I will kill you," she vowed with a glare.

"That was only – "

" – One time, Hermione. But what's – "

" – Up your trousers this evening?" they finished together.

"You threw me out of the bloody train!" she huffed as she straightened up, "I could've gotten trampled!"

"Yes – that's a very distinct possibility here," Remus chuckled as he stepped away from two squabbling siblings, "But if you want to catch Dumbledore before the feast, we better head off now."

"Alright," the three chorused before waving to the remaining Marauders and Lily.

* * *

"So your parents wanted you back?" Remus asked as they strolled through the corridors, the three boys chatting idly as Hermione lagged behind, deep in thought.

"Yeah," Fred gave a one shouldered shrug, "Mums."

"What can you do?" George sighed wistfully.

"Oh hush up, the both of you," Hermione frowned up ahead, "You know you two wanted to come back."

"Shush, baby sister," they said together, whirling around to frown at her. She put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out in retaliation, making them try not to smile at her.

"Alright, here we are, before you three decide to get into a full fledged sibling war," Remus smiled, stopping in front of a stone gargoyle, "Licorice wands." The gargoyle jumped back, revealing a staircase that wound up to a wooden door.

"See you later," he stated before walking off, hands in his pockets.

"Thanks, Remus!" Hermione called after him before following Fred and George up the staircase. She missed the fact that he had turned around to smile back at her, only instead he smiled at the gargoyle, which was giving him a very odd wink. Remus shuddered and hurried his pace down the corridor, suddenly deciding to never go back there alone.

* * *

"Come in," Dumbledore said as he heard the knock at his door, absentmindedly stroking Fawkes' head. The door opened and he looked up, blinking at two redheaded men and a petite brunette female. The three were looking uncomfortable before the young woman stepped up in front of the two, taking a deep breath and getting ready to jump into a very long explanation.

"I know you," he said before she could release the breath, startling the three.

"Y – you do?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes," he said, putting down his quill and standing up, "I met you all…in a dream."

"You did?" they asked, Fred sounding a little happier than his two companions.

"Yes," he strode over to them, reaching his hand out as if to touch Fred's shoulder, "You said you were from a wayward future, here to a time that was never yours to repair what was broken. Is this true?"

"Yes, sir," Fred answered for his open-mouthed twin and new little sister, "I'm Fred Weasley, and this is my twin George."

"Weasley?" Dumbledore repeated, "Would you, by any chance, be related to an Arthur Weasley?"

"He's our dad, sir," George started before wincing, "Err – will be our dad, in a few years, give or take."

"Molly Prewitt will be your mother, correct?"

"Yes, sir," the twins answered.

"And you are?" he turned to Hermione, making her blink at the sudden attention from her old headmaster.

"Hermione Jean Granger, sir," she answered.

"We're using her last name to save anyone from confusion," Fred told him.

"An excellent and wise decision," he nodded before sighing, "Well, I am afraid that I can be of no use to you three as for your quest. But as for a place for a proper education, I can manage that much."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione smiled up at him.

He smiled back, "I take it that you were sent without any forewarning?"

"Did your dream tell you that, sir?" George asked.

"No, you're all dressed in sweaters when it's actually a very warm beginning to fall. I merely assumed. No matter – I shall dig something up and have them sent to your dorms this evening. All seventh years, I presume?"

"Yes, sir," they all answered together.

"Excellent. You shall be Sorted this evening, with the first years. This is not very normal behavior, but I have been told before that I am not very normal myself. In the meantime, shall I lead you down to the Great Hall to await your doom?"

"Doom?" the three chorused, nervous expressions adorning their faces.

"Honestly, I thought you'd all have a sense of humor," he smiled before he led the way down the stairs.

* * *

"

"Moony!" Sirius cheered as the sandy haired teenager dropped into the seat next to him, "I thought I'd lost you!"

"Yeah," James grinned across the table, "Now what took you so long getting back here, hmm?"

Remus muttered something inaudible about a frisky gargoyle, making Sirius, James and Peter arch their eyebrows at each other before exploding into laughter. The other Gryffindors glanced down at them before sighing and turning back to what they were doing previously, seeing as they were all used to the Marauder's outbursts.

"Alright, what'd we miss?" Marlene asked as she slid in next to Peter, Lily having the misfortune to sit next to Sirius.

"Some weird new fetish Moony's got," James chuckled as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve, taking off his glasses to do so.

"No!" Remus frowned, "I walked the Grangers to Dumbledore's office and I was smiling at Hermione only Hermione wasn't there so instead I smiled at the gargoyle and it bloody winked at me!"

There was a silence before they started laughing again, Marlene and Lily joining in soon enough. Remus blushed and laid his head down on the table, refusing to look at anybody now.

"Aww, come on now, Moony," Sirius said as he patted his back, "At least you know that if it doesn't work out with Hermy, you've got a – " he let a laugh escape " – frisky gargoyle to keep you company."

"Stuff it, Padfoot," Remus growled, clutching his fork as he lifted his head to glare at the raven haired wonder.

"Who's Hermy?" Marlene questioned, "James' new owl?"

"No!" he snapped as they erupted into laughter once more, "There is no 'Hermy!'"

"My owl's name is Hercules, Mar, but close enough," James chuckled as he leaned back in his seat, arms behind his head as he let his foot keep his balance against the table.

"Oh, you mean Hermione, don't you?" Lily asked, green eyes lighting up as she figured out the answer, "That family sure is something, aren't they?"

"I'll say," Sirius said, "They dress rather weird, don't they?"

"Must be a Durmstrang thing," Peter shrugged.

"I dunno, I liked Hermione's jeans," Marlene commented, "She might even start a new trend."

"Doubt it," James snorted as Dumbledore stood up, quieting the students.

"Welcome back students, and I hope that you will welcome these new students as well," he smiled out at the crowd as McGonagall sat the stool down and unrolled a long list of parchment that nearly touched the floor. She cleared her throat and began the Sorting, shuffling in first year after first year. But after Adrian Zabini, she cleared her throat once more and read from the list -

"Granger, Fred."

In strolled long and lanky Fred, who sat down at the stool and snorted as his knees were practically to his ears. He stayed silent though as the murmurs swam through the crowd and the Hat was placed on his head.

"Well, you've got quite a story to tell, don't you?" the Sorting Hat whispered in his ear, "Been through a war, hid from darkness, and even then lost your life. Yet here you are, sitting where first years sit, completely unscathed."

"Well, I wouldn't say 'completely,'" he chuckled softly.

"Yes, I believe that wouldn't be a sufficient term. Well, there's really no doubt about it – GRYFFINDOR!"

The Great Hall was full of applause as Fred took off the Hat and handed it to a dazed McGonagall, who was trying to remember something. She gave her head a small shake and read from the list again –

"Granger, George."

George walked in, sitting down in the stool that had previously been occupied by his twin. The Hat was placed on his head and he was startled to find it whispering in his ear – only it was the ear that had been previously missing.

"Well, you too have an interesting story. Did you really lose your ear? But it seems perfectly fine!"

"S'long story," he murmured.

"Ah, yes, I see. Well, of course you belong in – GRYFFINDOR!"

Fred whooped as George jogged over to sit next to him, grins on their faces as McGonagall readjusted her glasses.

"Granger, Hermione."

Hermione strode confidently over to the stool, scoffing at the fact that she wasn't that much of a height difference from when she was eleven. The Sorting Hat blinded her view, leaving her to stare at the inside fabric.

"Well, I must say, you have the most interesting tale of all, Miss Granger. Had I never seen that certain spark in you, I would've put you into Ravenclaw. But I see great potential in you, great potential indeed. GRYFFINDOR!"

Hermione smiled at the two cheering redheads as she made her way over to them. Only she was detoured when two pairs of hands tugged her arms back and she was seated down next to Sirius and Remus, both of whom were grinning at her.

"Hullo, Hermione!" the Marauders chorused, making her smile at them.

"Hello," she said as Dumbledore stood up again.

"I welcome all of you to Hogwarts. Before we tuck in, I would like to go over a couple of rules. The Forbidden Forest is, as its name states, forbidden, and new and returning students alike would take care to remember that." He glanced over at the Marauders, who grinned back at him, then over at Fred and George, who feigned innocence. "If any of you are interested in playing Quidditch for your House, please see Madame Hooch and your Quidditch Captain. And, seeing as I can find no more to delay you from filling your bellies, I must say – tuck in!"

Food appeared on the table, many of the students rushing for their preferences. Hermione waited though, for fear of losing a limb. Fred and George caught her eye and the three began to have a quiet argument about who should move – them or her. Instead of the twins vouching for her to move over there and vice versa, Hermione actually wanted to move over there, while they wanted to move to where she was.

"No," she mouthed, "No, no, no, a hundred times no!"

"Hermione!" they mouthed back.

"No!"

"Pardon, but what was that disagreeing tone about?" Sirius asked as he looked at her sideways, an eyebrow arched.

Hermione blushed, seeing as she had just realized that she'd spoken aloud, "Oh, nothing, just arguing."

"Ahh, sibling arguing," Lily sighed happily, "Always get a kick out of it."

"I agree, fair Lily," Sirius smiled at the redhead before glowering over at the Slytherin table and muttering "Git."

"Anyway – tell us a bit about yourself, Hermione," James prompted.

"Err…like what?" she asked as she finally reached forward and grabbed a roll out of a nearly empty basket.

"Like…what do you like to do in your spare time? What type of people do you like to hang out with? Things like that?" Remus asked.

"Oh! Well, I love pole-dancing on the weekends, and my friends are usually crackheads – " she started before Sirius snorted pumpkin juice out of his nose. Lily coughed back a laugh as Remus chuckled into his meal.

"Oh, Hermione," Sirius sighed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "I think we'll get along just fine."

"What's a pole-dancer?" James, Marlene, Peter and the oncoming twins asked.

"It's somebody who – ahh," Remus winced as Lily began to whistle, looking away and pretending to be uninterested in this conversation. Hermione was sinking lower in her seat, trying to find an escape. Sirius, however, grinned and stepped up to the task.

"It's a bird who removes herself of clothing and dances around on a pole," he smiled, setting his chin in his hand as James, Peter and Marlene all stared in shock at them, George and Fred snorting and setting to the task of finding somewhere to sit.

"Do you? I mean – do you really? Pole-dance?" James asked as he tugged a little at his collar.

"No!" she rolled her eyes with a smile. "I read, and my friends are usually very crazy, to be honest."

"In which case, I disown you," Sirius removed his arm from her shoulders, muttering something about how reading was for pansies.

"In which case, you and I will get along much better than you would have with Padfoot," Remus grinned at her, "Whose your favorite author?"

"Oh, umm…" she hummed as she reached forward and grabbed a piece of chicken with her fork, "Well…Shakespeare, I guess."

"Oh, really?" he smiled at her as Lily turned back to the conversation, "Favorite Shakespearean tale then?"

She pointed at herself and shrugged, "Duh." She then went back to her dinner, looking around for something else she could put on her plate.

"Ahh – The Winter's Tale," Lily smiled fondly at her, "Since what am I to say must be but that which contradicts my accusation, and the testimony on my part no other but what comes from myself, it shall scarce boot me, to say 'not guilty.'"

"As I weigh grief, which I would spare. For honor, 'tis a derivative from me to mine, and only that I stand for. I appeal to your own conscience, sir, before Polixenes came to your court, how I was in your grace, how merited to be so; since he came, with what encounter so uncurrent I have strained t' appear thus; if one jot beyond the bound of honor, or in act or will that way inclining, hardened be the hearts of all that hear me, and my near'st of kin cry fie upon my grave!" Hermione answered.

Shrugging, Remus put in his two Shakespearean cents, "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool," Sirius interjected solemnly. There were many stares sent in his direction, to which he replied with an indignant "What?!"

"You know Shakespeare, Padfoot?" Peter asked.

"Shakespeare?" Sirius blinked, "That's what my barmy cousin has been spouting for years? I thought she just kept making that stuff up!"

There were a few laughs as James shook his head and sighed, "Ohh Paddy – I doubt anybody will be able to understand you as well as you understand yourself."

"Too true, Prongs," he grinned back.

"Ahh!" Dumbledore practically screamed, making the students straighten and clutch at their wands, "I nearly forgot! The school song!" He waved his wand, a ribbon filled with words soaring out above them.

Hermione looked up and smiled as she sang along with the rest of the school, singing it to the tune of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,' Remus singing it to the tune of the alphabet – which was really the same tune as Hermione's – Sirius and James were going rapid-fire, and Peter just mouthed the words. Everybody was nearly done, except for Fred and George, who were going along at a slow funeral march. Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed her bread before chunking it at them, startling them and making them blink over at her.

"Hermione!" they gasped.

"What? Your song was rather crumby," she grinned up at them as she grabbed another roll.

"Yeah, and that bread was rather cheesy," George frowned down at her as Fred rolled his eyes.

"Something's a little bland here."

"Well, it certainly isn't sweet."

"Okay, enough with the food puns – I'm getting hungry again," James frowned at them. They laughed with him as Fred and George took their new seats, now passing Hermione's discarded roll between them like a misshapen hackie sack.

* * *

_**I really don't own anything in this story whatsoever until the thirty-second chapter. So, yeah.**_

_**Bye now.**_

_**Love,**_

_**Marlene**_


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